Christ Church Cathedral
Bach Cantatas: The Ascent
Artists: Magali Simard-Galdès, soprano; Daniel Moody, alto; Jacob Perry, tenor; Drew Santini, baritone; the Pacific Baroque Orchestra directed by Alexander Weimann
Pre-Concert Chat: 07:00pm hosted by Christina Hutten with Alexander Weimann and Grégoire Jeay.
Runtime: Approximately 80 min + 20-minute interval
Ascend to new heights with joyful and dynamic music by J.S. Bach in this dazzling celebration of the composer’s works, featuring EMV 2025 Artist-in-Residence Magali Simard-Galdès and fellow soloists alongside the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. Aïga-Faros by Canadian composer Grégoire Jeay and J.S. Bach’s Triple Concerto – BWV 1044 – complement the programme.
Bach’s music was deeply tied to Lutheran theology, making him less directly influenced by Enlightenment philosophy. However, his work still resonated with certain rationalist and humanist ideas explored by enlightenment thinkers of the time such as Voltaire who believed that the “ascension” of man was not about a literal rise to heaven but about the intellectual and moral elevation of humanity.
In this concert, two contrasting Bach Cantatas on the theme of the Ascension are complemented by Bach’s Triple concerto and Grégoire Jeay’s Aïga-Faros (Waters of the Lighthouse), a piece that uses the same instrumentation as Bach’s concerto, (violin, flute, and harpsichord) with string orchestra and which captures the interplay between nature’s forces and invites the listener on a journey evoking fluidity, and the timeless power of water.
Click here to read programme notes by Christina Hutten
Generously sponsored by Mark De Silva
PROGRAMME
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto in A minor for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord, Strings & B.C.
BWV 1044 Cantata BWV 150 “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich”
Intermission
Grégoire Jeay (born 1962)
Aïga-Faros for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord, Strings & B.C.
J.S. Bach
Cantata BWV 128 “Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein”
Magali Simard-Galdès | Sponsored by Denise and Eric Pugash, soprano
Quebec soprano Magali Simard-Galdès is distinguished by a broad repertoire ranging from Baroque music, which she is particularly fond of, to contemporary music, for which she possesses all the precision required.
On the operatic stage, Magali imposes a celebrated presence and theatrical ease. Her ability to blend in with each character has enabled her to take on roles as diverse as Agnès (Benjamin, Written on skin), Musetta (Puccini, La Bohème), Micaëla (Bizet, Carmen), Tytania (Britten, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Gilda (Verdi, Rigoletto), Roxane (DiChiera, Cyrano de Bergerac), Constance (Poulenc, Dialogues des carmélites) and Nicette (Hérold, Le pré aux clercs), performing in many prestigious venues, such as, the Vancouver and Montreal Operas, Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, Tapestry Opera and the Wexford Festival Opera, not forgetting the Cologne Opera and the Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle in Lille.
On the concert platform, Magali displays the charisma, performing with world renowned specialist ensembles such as Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, Les Violons du Roy, Arion Orchestre baroque and Ensemble Caprice.
She performs just as regularly with symphonic ensembles and conductors such as Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Classique de Montréal, the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, the Houston Symphony and Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Orchestre Métropolitain and Orchestre du Festival Classica in Quebec, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jacques Lacombe, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Bernard Labadie, Jean-François Rivest, Mathieu Lussier, François-Xavier Roth, Jérémie Rhorer and Alexandre Bloch.
Alongside a busy international career, Magali can be regularly heard on Radio-Canada ICI Premiere as an sustainability consultant.
Daniel Moody, alto
Lauded for his “profoundly startling vocal resonance” (The New York Times) and “sweet and melancholy sound” (The Washington Post), Daniel Moody is celebrated for his interpretations of contemporary and baroque opera and as a soloist with orchestra.
Moody recently made debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in Brett Dean’s Hamlet as Rosencrantz, Atlanta Opera as Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare, and Cincinnati Opera as Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, where the American Record Guide praised his performance for its “utter beauty…where he would start singing ever so sweetly and then just let his voice blossom out into something big and round and smooth.”
A proponent of new music, Moody starred in a leading role in the world premiere of Hannah Lash’s chamber opera Desire, presented at Columbia University’s Miller Theater in collaboration with the JACK Quartet. Moody also worked with Nico Muhly on his song cycles at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. In 2016, Moody gave the American premiere of George Benjamin’s Dream of the Song at the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood Festival.
A graduate of the prestigious Yale Voxtet, resident at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Moody has performed as a soloist at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, London’s St. John’s Smith Square, and Cambridge’s Trinity College. His performances have been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 in the United Kingdom, on Boston’s WGBH, Indiana’s WFIU, and WSHU’s Sunday Baroque.
Moody is also a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and has won several awards in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, George London Competition, Handel Aria Competition, New York Oratorio Society Competition, and Russell Wonderlic Competition.
Jacob Perry, tenor
Jacob Perry, tenor, is lauded for his stylish interpretations of early music. As a soloist, he lends his graceful sense of phrasing and luminous tone to engagements with American Classical Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, Jacksonville Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Tempesta di Mare, Washington Bach Consort, and the Washington National Cathedral. Jacob joined the Carmel Bach Festival in 2022 as the tenor participant in the Virginia Adams Best Masterclass.
Deeply immersed in vocal chamber music, Jacob enjoys active membership in Les Canards Chantants, a soloist-ensemble based in Philadelphia, as well as engagements with ensembles such as the Ampersand, Art of Early Keyboard (ARTEK), Cathedra, Ensemble Altera, The Leonids, New Consort, Res Facta, and TENET Vocal Artists. He has explored the vocal works by contemporary composers through engagements with Third Practice, hexaCollective, and Great Noise Ensemble. As Co-Artistic Director of Bridge, a genre-defying vocal collective based in Washington, he draws on his instincts for theatricality and story-telling, as the group explores the connections between early masterpieces and ground-breaking new works.
Career highlights include his recent solo debut with the New York Philharmonic singing Handel’s “Israel in Egypt”, headlining the inaugural festival of Western Early Music at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music with Les Canards Chantants, and “English Orpheus”—a tour de force exploration of love songs and poems from the Elizabethan, Restoration, and early 18th-century periods he performed with Tempesta di Mare.
Drew Santini, baritone
Canadian baritone Drew Santini performs opera, oratorio and chamber music, and collaborates on a diverse gamut of musical projects. Comfortable in repertoire of many periods, he is particularly known for his stylish, sensitive performances of Bach and his contemporaries performing with such groups as Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Gli Angeli Genève, The English Concert, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, The Orchestra of the 18th Century, Ensemble Masques and Netherlands Bach Society.
The 23/24 season began with a debut appearance with the Orchestra of the 18th Century singing Guglielmo in their tour of Mozart’s Così fan tutte with conductor Manoj Kamps and stage director Lisenka Heijboer Castañón. Other highlights of the season included performances of John Blow’s Venus & Adonis with Ensemble Masques in France and Spain, a tour of Handel’s Messiah with Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht led by Johannes Leertouwer, a program with the Luthers Bach Ensemble and guest conductor Ton Koopman, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Dutch Bach Society led by Johanna Soller and Bach’s Mass in B minor in Hungary with Capella Savaria and guest conductor Bart Van Reyn.
Drew has recorded albums with Gli Angeli Genève, La Bande Montréal Baroque, BachPlus, and Oerknal! New Music Collective. He appears in over 25 works on ‘All of Bach’, a project by the Dutch Bach Society to record the complete oeuvre.
Drew originally hails from Stratford, Ontario. He holds degrees from The Juilliard School (MM) and Manhattan School of Music (BM). He currently lives in The Hague, Netherlands. drewsantini.com
Pacific Baroque Orchestra
Learn more about the PBO by clicking here.
The ‘house band’ of Early Music Vancouver, The Pacific Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is recognized as one of Canada’s most exciting and innovative ensembles performing “early music for modern ears.” Formed in 1990, the orchestra quickly established itself as a force in Vancouver’s burgeoning music scene with the ongoing support of Early Music Vancouver. In 2009, PBO welcomed Alexander Weimann as Director. His imaginative programming, creativity and engaging musicianship have carved out a unique and vital place in the cultural landscape of Vancouver.
PBO regularly joins forces with internationally-celebrated Canadian guest artists, providing performance opportunities for Canadian musicians while exposing West Coast audiences to a spectacular variety of talent. The Orchestra has also toured throughout BC, the northern United States, and across Canada. Their 2019 East Coast Canadian tour with Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin culminated in a critically acclaimed album, Nuit Blanches, released by Atma Classique.
Alexander Weimann | Sponsored by Bruce Munro Wright, O.B.C., director
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music. Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.) He is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and teaches at the University of British Columbia where he directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme.
Alex has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra. His latest album series “The Art of Improvisation” (Volume 1: A Prayer for Peace; Volume 2: Ad libitum; and Volume 3: Canavian Variations, released on Redshift, 2024) unites his passions for both baroque music and improvisation on organ, harpsichord, and piano.
